Machine Feeds Stray Dogs In Exchange For Recycled Bottles

There are 150,000 stray cats and dogs in Istanbul. Does that seem nuts? I don't think it should 'cause I have always felt like every place that isn't North America has a crazy problem with stray dogs especially. I'm mostly talking about practically every island in the Caribbean - since each time I would go on vacation with my family around that area when I was a kid, I made at least ten dog friends per trip. It was the best. Anyway, it's a huge problem and most places don't really give too much of a fuck about it 'cause typically speaking, there are much larger issues. 

There's a really neat device (created by the Turkish company Pugedon) that aims to increase recycling while providing food and water to stray dogs. Check it out.

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“The device encourages passersby to recycle and look at our animal co-inhabitants with different eyes. The principle of the machine is very simple – it has containers for water (you can pour the remaining water from your bottle before recycling it) and for dog food. A fixed ratio of kibbles is dispensed when a bottle is recycled. The project is independent from the government and covers the cost of the food with the recycled bottles.”

That's wicked! Love this idea.

Breakfast To Go Container

I'm not saying that Martha Stewart doesn't have an amazing team, but I love her personally for having this container available through her Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's.

It's a small (to-go) container with a rubberized airtight seal, it has two compartments to separate wet and dry ingredients and a snap-in spoon (it snaps into the bottom of the top layer). It's ideal for taking yogurt, granola, berries, milk or cereal on the go in the morning or whenever.

Is this not fantastic? If there's one thing that gets me hot and bothered all over, it's purposeful, fancy tupperware. I just bought one recently and I can't tell you how nice it is to have yogurt and granola as a snack when you're out in the world and you don't want to eat terribly. 

“If you compliment someone (who isn’t present) to another person, please remember it and either text it to or call that person you just complimented. So many unheard compliments are just flying all around us. Catch them! Give them to their owners!”

— #lizadvice

Mini Rum-Raisin Bread Puddings

Almost all of the words in this recipe title sound bad... no wait, they actually all sound terrible (who the hell wants a mini-anything - give me the full size, please). The reason that I wanted to make this recipe, however, was because of two factors.

1. I don't own an oven in my home, so when I'm visiting my parents I like to bake as much as I can so I can get it out of my system for awhile.
2. My dad loves rum-raisin anything.

As it turns out, I ate three of these BECAUSE THEY WERE DELICIOUS. I don't know if it's because I've become a less picky eater or if it's just because I'm constantly hungry, but lately there's nothing I wouldn't try, food-wise.

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What it's supposed to look like

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What it actually looked like (minus the pecans, I forgot to put them on)

Does my version look gross? Maybe in comparison to the sexy one beside her, but I swear to God it tasted amazing. If you have anyone in your life who likes rum-raisin, they'll love this to pieces. I swear. I'm not even a fan of bread pudding and I'm still standing by this dish because it was delicious. (I really wish bread pudding had a better name. It's really the worst name for a dessert in the history of food.)

You can find the recipe here. I implore you to try it out. 

The Bed Butler

It holds laptops up to 17", magazines, tablets, e-readers, books, cell phones, remotes, pens, glasses and more - all within arm's reach while you're in bed. While I try not to tolerate cell phone usage in my own bed, this does seem like a great idea to have.

(Sidenote: no couple should allow cell phones NEAR their bed. Let a bed be a bed, unfettered. Shouldn't it be the one place where technology doesn't take over your surroundings?)

The Pornographication of Fitness Needs to Stop

I just read this great piece written by Tosca Reno on the state of fitness today and it's fantastic. Go read it.

The Simpsons

ON STAGE
Principal Skinner: Welcome to the world premiere of The Nice Man Giveth!

IN AUDIENCE
Mr. Burns: Ugh. FOCUS!
Smithers: It's a play, sir. 

The Things We Should Have Learned In High School

This post could also be known as The Things They Should Have Taught Us In High School but I can't agree on who's precisely to blame here, so I'm blaming us all.

I'm not saying that the things we're taught in high school and college are useless - some of those things are crazy important to know. But we're definitely not being groomed to be fully functioning adults by the time they let us out on our own at around age 22, if not at a younger age.

In a perfect world, these are the courses they should have made us take.

• Doing Your Taxes 101
• Internships: A Modern Slavery
• Making Friends As An Adult
• The Ins and Outs of a Mortgage
• Cleanliness and You: The Study of Personal Hygiene
• The Convergence of Love And Sex
• Interpreting Family Relationships
• The Normalization of Drug Dependency
• How To Date Many People Before Committing To Marriage
• Adult Onset Body Image Issues
• Balancing A Work Life and A Social Life
• The Wonders of Travel
• Career Change in Unstable Economies
• Understanding Divorce
• Kindness: A Gentle Analysis
• Healthy Meal Planning
• The Struggles of Depression
• The Realities of Single Parenthood
• Body Maintenance
• The Glorification of Alcohol
• Finance Organization
• The Exploration of Alternative Lifestyles
• Managing Unemployment
• Dealing With Emotional Unavailability
• The Importance of Debt
• Child Development (yes this exists, IN CHILD STUDIES PROGRAMS, but everyone needs this course)
• The Effects of Grief
• Maintaining A Savings Account
• Elderly Planning

If we were exposed to any of these classes growing up, who knows what kind of a society we'd get to live in now. I'm just saying.

A math teacher once told me why he thought kids would benefit from taking math (and I'm talking about the more advanced math that gets taught in the later years of high school). He said something along the lines of, "We don't teach it because you need to know this stuff later. We teach it solely because people find it difficult. You're going to encounter difficult things in your life and it ultimately comes down to how you're going to choose to solve them. Whether you give up or try the best you can to figure it out, that's always up to you. That's why math is important." 

Now maybe you think that's a lame thought, but I really loved it and still do. Though, we'd have all definitely benefited from any of those courses I listed above. When I'm running the world, you better be damn sure those are getting taught. MAD TAUGHT.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

Apparently even bad cooks know how to make stir fry - or at least that's what I've been told. I started making them for the first time this summer and I think I get why people say that now. They're RIDICULOUSLY EASY TO MAKE and almost impossible to screw up. Did everyone already know that fact but me?

Here's an adapted recipe that I can't stop making.

Photo Credit: what2cook.net

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated or chopped ginger (it's easier to keep ginger in the freezer (thank you, Marla!) and then you can grate it frozen whenever a recipe calls for it)
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups broccoli flowerets - or a whole bunch, I never measure out broccoli because I'm not a serial killer
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

Spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet (ie. a deep-ass pan) with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken, garlic and ginger. Fry until chicken is brown. 
Add 3/4 cup of the broth, the soy sauce and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring twice.
Add broccoli. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup broth, then stir that into chicken and broccoli. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

Can't tell you how good this tastes. You can find the original recipe here, but I prefer the adapted one above.